Self-wringing mop



Aug. 6, 1957 J. ALMA, JR., ETAL SELF-WRINGING MOP Filed Dec. 2. 1950 ATTORNEXS.

United States Patent SELF-WRINGING MOP Joseph Palma, Jr., Berwyn, and James G. Knapp, Lornhard, 11]., assignors, by mesne assignments, toAmenearl-Marietta Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application D cem r 950, S r l No- 9 ,8 6 Claims. (Cl. 15-119) Our invention relates to mops, and more particularly to mops of the selfawringing type in which the mop body is composed of an absorbent SPQnge.

Heretofore various types of self-wringing mops have been known. All of these mops, however, have suffered from certain defects. One problem in regard to selfwringing mops which has not been adequately solved is that of providing a means for wringing the mop body, which satisfactorily cleans the mop. The prior known wringing means result in forcing dirt collected on the edges of the mop body, which is usually a sponge, into the interior of the mop. Some of the mops provide a presser plate hinged along the front edge "of'the mop head, while some provide a presser plate hinged along the rear edge. The front wringing type is especially undesirable, since in normal mopping operations the largest quantity of dirt tends to accumulate on the front edge of the sponge, and this dirt is forced into the interior of the sponge by wringing it from the front. The rear wringingrnops, however, are also unsatisfactory in this respect,

since a considerable quantity of dirt also accumulates on the back edge of the sponge. This, is true because the mop is moved both forwardly and backwardly in moping.

Prior self-wringing mops have other disadvantages such as requiring a separate presser plate and a squeezing lever attached thereto, and means must be provided to latch the squeezing lever against the handle during the mopping. Mops of this character also require a long hinge either on the front or rear edge of the mop head. A further disadvantage is that the mop handle has not been made sufficiently adjustable, because of the structural limitations imposed by the wringing means.

It is therefore an object 'of our invention to devise a mop which flushes from the center outwardly, and

,thereby cleanses the exterior edges of the mop sponge without causing dirt to be forced into the interior of the sponge. Another object of our invention is to eliminate the separate presser plate now required in self-wringing mops together with the squeezing lever and longitudinal hinge. It is a still further object of our invention to produce a mounting for the handle which will make it adequately adjustable for both mopping and storage. Other specific objects and advantages will appear as the specification proceeds.

We have discovered that the above objects can be substantially accomplished by attaching a sponge, such as a cellulose sponge, to a mop head plate which is hinged transversely at about the center thereof. More specifically we have discovered that the rnop head plate should be formed in two sections having their inner ends bent downwardly and formed into a hinge, thus providing a drop hinge at the bottom ofa V-notch. We have further discovered that it is desirable toprovide a sliding sleeve on the handle with linking means adapted to fold the mop head plate together, and therebyv apply pressure to the sponge when the sleeve is moved downwardly. Wehave also discovered that it is advantageous to utilize Patentedv Aug. .6, 1957 side braces terminating in balls secured in sockets in the mop head plate; We have further discovered that it is desirable to use a hinged handle socket and that the socket should be hollow and have side slots therein.

Our invention is illustrated, in a preferred embodiment by the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a prospective elevational view showing our improved self-wringing mop; Fig. 2, a broken vertical sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 3 and showing the details of the socket and housing construction; and Fig. 3, a schematic view showing the mop head in wringing position combined with a cross-sectional view showing the V-notch and IOP hinge.

In the illustration given, 1 represents a handle adapted to be connected to a mop head that carries a mop body. In the embodiment shown in the drawing, the handle is secured to socket 13 by rivets 24, and-has sleeve 2 sliding thereon. Ball detents 23, as shown in Fig. 3, are preferably provided to secure sleeve 2 in its uppermost PQsition on handle 1.

Sleeve 2 has flange supports 3 on each side thereof in whieh are pivotally secured sliding rods 5 by means of pins 4/ Sliding rods 5 extend downwardly parallel to and on opposite sides of handle 1, and are pivotally secured by upper pins 10 to the enlarged ends 9 of side braces 8. Side braces 8 extend laterally and downwardly from handle 1.

J-rods 6 are pivotally secured by lower pins 10 to the enlarged ends 9 of side braces 8, below sliding rods 5,, so as to extend downwardly parallel to handle 1, and into the; center of socket 13 through slots 14. The J-rods 6 are fastened together by pivot pin 7 inside socket 1 3 to form a U beneath handle 1. As shown in Fig. 2, the juncture of rods 6. may if desired be maintained in a fixed position by the anchoring of pin 7 in socket 13. .l-rods 6, as best seen in Fig. 3, function as fulcrum rods for their respective sliding rods 5.

Handle socket 13 is mounted on housing or support 16 by means of socket hinge 15. Housing 16 rests on mop-head plate 17, but is not physically connected thereto. As seen best in Fig. 3, mop head plate, 17 is composed of right sectionv 17a and left section 1712, Sections 17a and 17b preferably have their inner ends19a and 1% turned downwardly to form V-notch 21. Thus, V-notch 21 extends transversely across the center of mop head plate 17. A drop hinge 20 is provided to secure plate sections 17a and 17b together at the bottom of V-notch Z1, and to make sections 17a and 17b foldable together downwardly. The hinge barrels ofdrop hinge 20- are preferably integrally formed with plate sections 17; and 17b and are pivotally carried on a pintle extending therethrough and that projects outwardly therefrom and through the housing 16 Mop head plate 17 preferably has perforations 18 to assist in wringing the mop.

Plate sections 17a and 17b have sockets 12a and 12b respectively formed in their upper surfaces at preferably an equal distance from drop hinge 20. Within sockets 12g and 12b there are secured balls 11, which are integrally formed with side braces 8. As previously described, side braces 8 are piv-otally linked to handle sleeve 2, This linkage causes a downward force to be exerted on the top of plate sections 17a and 171;, when sleeve 2, is. moved downwardly on handle 1.

An absorbent sponge 22 is secured to the bottom of mop head plate 17. This can be accomplished by means of a heat resistant adhesive such as cellulose acetate. Sponge 22 is notched transversely at the center, to provide a space for V-notch 21 without bunching the sponge. The sponge can be made of various flexible absorbent materials. We prefer, however, to use a cellulose sponge, but foam rubber is also desirable.

If it is desired, the sponge can be made more readily 3 detachable in various ways. For example, by the means shown in U. S. Patent 2,515,403 issued to N. B. Greenleaf et a1.

Operation For mopping operations, sleeve 2 is secured in its upper-most position by ball detents 23 and sections 17a and 17b of mop head plate 17 are kept in horizontal alignment. The hinged mounting of socket 13 on housing 16 allows mop handle 1 to be pivoted backwardly and 'forwardly during mopping, within the limits provided by the housing edges that define the slot through which the 'socket extends and that may be dimensionally varied as desired, or brought to a vertical position for storage.

When it is desired to wring the mop sponge, one hand can be used to grasp handle 1 and the other hand used to grasp sleeve 2. The hand on sleeve 2 can then disengage sleeve 2 from ball detents 23 by pushing sleeve 2 downwardly on handle 1. This causes sliding rods 5 and J-rods 6 to pivot outwardly, and thereby transfers the downward motion of sleeve 2 to sections 17a and 17b by means of side braces 8. It should be noted that balls 11 on the ends of side braces 8 rotate in sockets faces of the sponge without forcing dirt into the interior of the sponge. V-notch 21 and the correspondingly notched portion of sponge 22 prevent any bunching of the sponge at the fold which would interfere with the wringing. Therefore, it can be seen that the V-notch -is important in facilitating a complete wringing of the sponge.

While in the foregoing specification we have shown our improved self-wringing mop in great detail and in a specific arrangement for illustration, it will be understood that such arrangement and details of the structure 'can be varied widely by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of our invention.

We claim: 1. A self-wringing mop, comprising a handle and a head carried by said handle, said head including two elongated plates having their inner transverse edge portions bent downwardly and being hingedly connected to each other along the inner edges thereof thereby forming an enlarged plate having a central V-notch therein,

an integral absorbent sponge of relatively thick cross section secured beneath said enlarged plate and extending across said V-notch, said sponge having a V-notch in its upper surface receiving the portions of said two plates forming said first-mentioned Vnotch, side braces having balls on the lower ends thereof received within sockets formed in the top of said plates, rods pivotally secured 'to the upper ends of said side braces, and a sleeve slidably mounted on said handle and pivotally connected to said rods, whereby said plates can be folded and pressure applied to said sponge by moving said sleeve downwardly.

2. A self-wringing mop, comprising a handle secured in a hollow socket having slots in the sides thereof, a 3 sleeve slidably mounted on said handle, a pair of pivotally attached linking rods on each side of said handle with -the upper rod of each of said rod pairs being pivotally attached to said sleeve and the lower rods of said pairs i extending through said slots and being pivotally fastened together inside said socket, side braces pivotally secured to said linking rods and terminating in balls adapted to .be received within sockets, .two. elongated lates having their inner transverse edge portions bent downwardly and with the edges thereof hingedly connected to each other thereby forming an enlarged plate having a central V-notch therein, said plates having sockets on their upper sides to receive the balls on the ends of said side braces, and an integral rectangular absorbent sponge of one piece construction and relatively thick cross section secured beneath said plates and extending across said V- notch, said sponge having a V-notch in its upper surface receiving the'portions of said two plates forming said first-mentioned V-notch.

3. An adjustable self-wringing mop, comprising a handle rigidly received within a socket, said socket having a hollow portion with side slots therein below said handle, a housing supporting said socket and connected thereto by a hinge providing pivotal movement of said socket relative thereto two elongated plates having their inner ends abutting beneath said housing, said inner plate ends being bent downwardly to form a V-notch and connected to each other along said inner ends by integrally formed hinge barrels turning downwardly on a hinge pin, an integral rectangular absorbent sponge of relatively thick cross section and with a V-shaped recess in the top thereof complementary to and receiving said V-notch and being secured beneath said plates, sockets spaced laterally in the top of said plates at an equal distance from said V-notch and on opposite sides thereof, side braces with their lower ends terminating in balls pivotally secured within said plate sockets, J-shaped rods pivotally attached to the upper ends of said side braces, said J- rods passing into said hollow socket portion through said side slots and pivotally connected to each other within said socket, linking rods also pivotally connected to the upper ends of said side braces above said J-rods, said linking rods extending upwardly on opposite sides of said handle, a sleeve slidably mounted on said handle having lower flange projections, said linking rods having their upper ends pivotally connected to said flange projections, and locking means to secure said sleeve in .its uppermost position.

4. In a self-wringing mop structure, a mop head comprising a pair of elongated plates arranged normally in each other to form a relatively deep V-shaped notch,

said transverse edges being hingedly connected together along the apex of said notch to permit said plates to be folded downwardly and toward each other, and a continuous sponge body secured to the underside of said plates, extending across said notch and having a V- shaped groove in the upper surface thereof receiving said notch therein, a handle carried by said plates, and braces connecting said plates with a linkage of pivoted rods actuated by a slidably mounted sleeve for longitudinal movement relative to said handle for folding said plates downwardly to compress said sponge body.

5. In a sponge mop structure, a pair of plates arranged in end to end longitudinal alignment and being connected together by a hinge along the adjacent transverse edges thereof for folding movement downwardly and toward each other, said plates being arranged and adapted to have a sponge body secured to the underside thereof, a sponge body so secured, a housing carried by said plates and overlying the latter, said housing being connected to said plates through said plate hinge, a socket secured to said housing, a handle secured to said socket and having a sleeve slidably mounted thereon,

. a sliding rod pivotally secured to said sleeve and extending downwardly along each side of said handle, a pair of fulcrum rods having inner and outer ends, said fulcrum rods being secured to each other by a hinge at their inner ends and pivotally secured to the lower end of their respective sliding rods at their outer ends, said fulcrum hinge being fixed with respect to said socket,

and side braces pivotally connected at one end to said References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,204,806 Lorentz et a1. June 18, 1940 6 Thomas Aug. 5, 1941 Berndsen Oct. 25, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Norway Jan. 30, 1950 Australia Jan. 20, 1938 Germany Nov. 24, 1909 Germany Apr. 27, 1934 Germany Aug. 14, 1935 France Jan. 25, 1937 France Jan. 12, 1950 

